


Spring has arrived

by Saccharine_Seductress



Series: A conflicted Mind [3]
Category: Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik
Genre: Bargaining, Gen, Marriage Contracts, Marriage Proposal, Pining, Serious Injuries, Spoilers, Waiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:08:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25925653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saccharine_Seductress/pseuds/Saccharine_Seductress
Summary: Miryem and the Staryk Lord leave the sewers and find that spring has unfortunately arrived.
Relationships: Miryem Mandelstam/The Staryk Lord
Series: A conflicted Mind [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759954
Comments: 21
Kudos: 50





	1. Fresh Air

The closer I came to the surface the heavier she felt. My arms were weakening with every rung I climbed. The dirt ground under my toes, my leg still burned. We came to the hatch soon enough but the air was  _ so _ hot. Much hotter than it should be, even in spring. The warm air slapped my face and I dropped my wife onto the ground unceremoniously. She gasped in surprise as she plopped down. It was still night but it felt like high noon. I knelt down to catch my breath and I began to sweat profusely. The grass underneath me started to frost slightly and some of the discomfort subsided. 

Czernobog had found his way into my home. He was melting the snow and drinking up all my ice. I needed to return to my Kingdom urgently. I staggered up onto my feet, one still bare, and raised my arms with shining eyes and the circle of frost began to spread from around me. The blades of grass curling down and tightening as crystals of ice covered them, the ground beneath me going hard and cold. Now that I was free, I could summon back all the winter that had been stripped away and bring forth my road.

Wait!” she shouted in protest, getting up on her knees shakily. I glanced down at her and said fiercely, “He has already drunk from my people! I will not let—”. I cut myself off as I felt someone creeping up behind me. I swung around a second too late and a sword plunged into my belly just beneath the ribs. My Lady screamed out in distress.  _ ‘Had someone stabbed her too? Was there another guard?’ _ The guard with a bushy mustache looked into my eyes with disgust and fear. I hated him and how dutiful he was. All for that horse-faced Tsarina.

He tried to jerk the sword out of my ribs with both hands on the hilt but my body was already freezing over and trying to patch itself with frost. It raced down the sword and almost caught the guards gloved hands. That might have killed him, if only I could have frozen it fast enough to crystallize his heart. I fell to my knees as he staggered back, flopping to my side in anguish.  _ ‘No need for decorum with a blade in your lung!’. _ My eyes glazed over and I couldn’t focus on anything, blinded by the pain. I grasped the hilt of the sword and began turning it to ice, slowing the flow of blood now that it was a part of me. I focused all my energy into turning the intrusive blade into ice. It was all I could do to stay awake. The determination not to die kept me in the present.

Wait,” my queen said in a gasp, “Listen to me! We have to stop the  _ demon _ , not him!”. “Be silent,  _ witch _ !” the soldier spat at her. “You have done this, you have let him free, to undo the work of our  _ blessed _ tsarina,” and then he struck her face with a loud crack. Her cheek might have broken. She fell down next to me.  _ ‘So we would die together _ ’. Not with a demon breathing down our necks but a ruddy faced soldier infatuated with a thin pale-faced horse. I saw a tall figure running out through the trees. It was that thief I caught in my woods eating a raw rabbit. 

He grabbed the guard’s hand and twisted it away from us. They wrestled over me for a moment and then the soldier stomped the thief's foot. He only had shoes made of straw so I was sure there was a broken toe at least. ‘ _ Why would  _ **_he_ ** _ help us?’ _ Then his face came into view and I remembered he had been the tall boy who held my chains last night. How had I not realized it last night? He wasn’t as scrawny as he was when I found him trespassing in the woods. Perhaps I only had eyes for my Lady last night… In all her finery. The silk dress clinging in all the right places… I snapped back to the present.

The guard twisted his arm free and threw the boy to the ground with a  _ thawp _ . He raised his hands to stab the boy, but it was  _ far _ too late. I had him in my hands, and his heart would be ice. The sword had broken off of me moments before and I had reached out in time to freeze his soul. His skin started to blacken with frostbite and peel away. I would not turn him into a slave, and I would  _ not _ let his death be painless. Not after he hit my queen's beautiful face. Soft gurgles escaped his lips before the last icicle had taken root. The dagger fell from his hands and I rolled over on my back with a huff. I breathed heavily but each breath was a little easier now that I had plugged the hole in my lung. I kept my eyes closed and focussed only on breathing, letting the frost on the ground around me seep into my body. 

“What do we do?” the tall boy asked my wife. She bent over me and I opened my eyes. They were heavy with fatigue and she was hazy. “Can you call your road?” she asked me. “Your sleigh? Have them come to take you back?”. 

“Too far,” I whispered. “Too far. My road cannot run beneath green trees.” And then I shut my eyes again and lay there still, helplessly, trying to stay conscious. “We’ll have to carry him.” she declared. And my mind started to pick apart the words. But thought was too slow. The ideas would not form in my head. I was too tired and I was about to slip into dreams. She started shoving my limbs around carelessly like I was already a corpse. “All right,” she said. “Take the top, and I’ll take the bottom,”.

I jerked to life and tried to lash out at the thief, though weakly. “What are you doing?” she demanded. “He comes to my aid unasked,  _ unwanted _ ! Am I to permit this cowering wight, this  _ slinking thief _ , to put me under an obligation without end, so he may ask whatever he likes of me?”. She looked at me with disdain. Somehow  _ still  _ not understanding the power of favors and debts. “Chernobog still sits in that castle ready to devour all of us, you’re half dead on the ground, and you’d still lie here thinking first of your pride. Be proud after he’s gone!”

I looked at her reproachfully. “Lady, I will be proud then,” I said, “and before also; I set no limits on my pride.” After everything she has seen and done how did she not understand anything? I heard her grind her teeth and address the thief “Ask him for something! What would you have him give you for your help? And don’t bargain short,” she added vengefully, “since he’s so  _ eager _ to be proud.” He looked startled and disbelieving. And after a moment said, very slowly, as if he didn’t entirely trust us, “For—for my crops never to be blighted by frost?” she nodded, so he took courage and added, “And none of my herds ever lost in a blizzard? And—” she was still beckoning him on, “to hunt even the white animals in the forest?”. I scowled at him and he cowered slightly.  _ Good _ .

“There!” she said to me. “Will that do? Will you make that bargain, for the help to get you to safety? Or will you lie here until spring rains melt you entirely?”. I looked viciously at them both “He bargains high, for a low thief,” I muttered. “But fortune smiles on him; very well, I agree,” and then let my head sink back against the cloak, and went limp. I felt my magic seeping out of me slowly. They had jostled me throughout but I hadn't woken enough to open my eyes. My eyes flickered open slightly as I was laid on a hard wooden surface. I was unconscious for what seemed a second but had to have been an hour based on the moons position. I fell into darkness again and my Lady shook me awake savagely “The same bargain, for everyone who lives here, to help you.” I looked at her bruised face with slitted white eyes and muttered, “Yes,” before I faded back away. 

My sleep was dreamless and I grew uncomfortable as the heat began to penetrate my bed of stone.  _ ‘How did I get here?’ _ My queen woke me again to give me water and it chilled me pleasantly. The cold oozed out of me and into the air. My Golden lady took some ice and squashed it onto my deformed foot. It soothed me and I felt it reform slightly. She murmured to the people around us but I couldn’t make out the words. I felt her leave me and climb back into the warm world of the living. Another gust of warm summer wind hit me. But it lulled me to sleep, reminding me that I had not the strength to fight it. 

****************

She came back to me and lightly shook my shoulders. “ _ This _ is the house,” she said when my eyes fluttered open. “The witch’s house that you told me of. The one that stands in both kingdoms. Is there some way to cross from here?”. I stared blankly at her while the words slowly eased into understanding. And then whispered, “I sealed the way between; only cracks are left. I did not want any more mortals wandering through. It must be opened again…” I looked but my eyes were so heavy my vision was blurred. “How?” she said. “With what?” I shut my eyes and drew a breath, opening them again and said, “Help me to stand.” She guided me onto the ladder and I dizzily climbed upwards.

I looked up at the rectangle of open air standing over our heads, the stars glittering against a dark night sky. “Won’t you get worse if you climb out? It’s warm.” My lady said with a worried look on her purple face. 

I shuddered a little “And will be warmer soon. From now on my strength will ebb, not grow. I must make use of what little of it I have left, while it lasts.” I climbed the rest of the way groggily. Limping slowly to the house, pressing a hand over my injured side. I halted outside the door, staring at the orange flickering light of the fire. Rather than wince, I forced my face to be expressionless. She must have sensed my uneasiness, because she hurriedly said “Wait,” and went in to shovel a heap of ashes over the flames to put them out, and closed the oven door. I relaxed slightly as the heat subsided. It hurt my eyes to see a flame head on, but there was almost no moonlight coming in from the windows.

I bent under the door frame and walked in, taking in as much as I could in the dim light while my eyes adjusted. I looked around the room, and raised my hands and let them drop a listlessly, as if in desperation my path home would appear in my hands. But I had to search myself and feel where my winter breeze was coming from. I went to a cupboard standing in the corner on my left, and opened it. My lady’s mother starred in my direction. “Was there a cupboard—” I was rifling through it, throwing things impatiently on the ground as I dug them out of drawers: a necklace of green beads; a cloak dark red and torn, stained with blood; a faded bunch of roses; a small sack of dried peas that burst and went rolling out over the floor everywhere with a clatter.  _ Rubbish _

Why were they just watching me dumbly? “Help me! Or you’ve not given me the aid you bargained with!” I snapped at them. “What are we looking for?” my queen demanded. “Something of my kingdom!” I said in exasperation. “Something of winter, to help me open the way.” The hearty blonde looked at me vacantly “There’s nowhere else to look,” she said. I made an impatient noise. “There! And there,” and pointed to two doors in the walls left and right of the oven. I turned back to my cupboard and dug through every trinket inside.  _ ‘How are they so blind?’ _ There were endless places to look. This house had vast pockets of magic that expanded the space. I could hear the magic murmuring at me, always in a different corner of my mind.

My lady returned from the other room with a handful of smooth black pebbles that shone strangely. “No! What use is that? I might wander ten thousand years in the goblin depths and never find a way out again; put them away!” I said impatiently. The old woman found an old dull copper coin I rejected saying, “I cannot  _ dream _ my way home, either!”. And flicked a hand in dismissal. They returned with a nearly empty vile.  _ Useless _ . “Poison or elixir; what does it matter now?” I said, pulling open another drawer; three grey mice sprang out of it and ran away. The sky was growing a little light in the distance, and my bare wounded leg was leaving a wet mark on the wooden boards of the floor where I stood.  _ ‘Why is it taunting me?’ _ I could almost pin it down and then it would go quiet again.

“Maybe there  _ isn’t _ anything!” My lady shouted. My head was drooping in this heat. I stopped and leaned against the door. “There  _ is _ something! There is. I feel the wind of my kingdom on my face, it murmurs in my ears and the corners, though I cannot tell where it has come in. We must find it.” I said it almost unbelieving. That wind was jeering at me.

“I don’t feel anything but hot,” she said, “even though the fire’s almost out.” I raised my head again. “Yes,” I said hollowly. “The wind is warm.” She stared at me. “What does that mean?” she said warily. “Chernobog is there,” I whispered. Rage bubbling up in me “He has gotten into my kingdom. He is  _ there _ !”. With a fresh surge of desperation I began to tear out the little drawers along the top of the cupboard one by one, flinging them on the ground, half of them breaking, scattering everywhere: marbles, pen-nibs, handkerchiefs, a doll made out of rags, unraveling strings, a handful of pennies, old candy in a bag, lumps of carded wool, a thousand and one  **_useless_ ** things stuffed carelessly in one knothole after another, and  _ none _ of it from my winter kingdom.

“We can’t find anything else,” her mother said to her softly, coming dusty and tired out of the bedroom again. “We’ve looked three times in every corner, unless he can show us another place to look.” she glanced at me in question. “It is here!” I said, wheeling on her ferociously. “It is somewhere!”.  _ ‘Why couldn’t I find you?!’ _ Then the little boy said in a very low voice, like a mouse “I have this, but I cannot make it grow.” 

_ ‘The seed of a white tree! How could he have this? Where had he found it? Where did it come from?’ _ I gave a cry, springing forward. “Where came you by this?” I said, accusatorially. “Who gave it to you?” I reached out to snatch it from his grubby little fingers, but the blonde ox stepped in front of me. And fiercely said, “Mama gave it to him! It came from her, from her in the tree, and it is his, not yours!” I stopped, looking at her in disbelief. “There is not enough breath in a mortal life to bring a snow-tree to fruit! Though you fed it with one, with two, with three, you would have barely brought it to leaf. By what blood did you raise this, that you can claim it true?”

“Da buried all five of the babies there,” she said. Her face was white and hard and angry. “All five of my brothers who died. And Mama at the end. She gave it to Stepon! It is his!” I looked at her, then her brothers, and tried to measure the lives of six people.  _ ‘What could I ever offer that was equal in worth?’ _ I dropped my hand as I stared at the white nut curled half hidden behind the little boy's fingers, and whispered, “It is his.” in agreement. Though it would mean death to all my people, There was nothing I could offer in fair trade. I felt my soul crumple within me and my body followed suit. I actually deflated.

The boy slowly offered it to me but I couldn’t take it from him. I had no claim, and nothing of value to trade. I just stared at his tiny hand. My Lady’s mother leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead. “She would be proud of you,” she said to him warmly, and taking it from his hand she turned and held it out to me. “Take it and save the Staryk children. What better can you do with it?”. I gawked at her, unmoving. She couldn’t give it to me  _ either _ . Then my wife took it and I turned to her, waiting for another miracle. “What do we do?” she asked me, “How do we use it?” 

“Lady, you must do with it as you will. It is not mine.” she glared at me with indignation. “What would you have done, then, if it were yours?” I looked into her blue eyes and spoke true “I would lay it in the earth and call it forth and open my road beneath its boughs. But that I cannot do. I have no claim upon this seed; it will not answer to my voice. And I know not how you can do it, either. A snow-tree will not take root in spring, and you hold sun-warm gold and not winter in your hands.” I kept gazing at her beautiful face, expecting a new gift of high magic to present itself. She had so many gifts I had never known were possible. It might be that she had another hidden even from herself. “We’ll try to plant it again. Can you come and freeze the ground?” I nodded with little hope but I got up from my place on the floor.

But when we opened the door, I stumbled back, almost falling before the wave of warm air that blew in, warmer even than the inside of the house; it smelled of soft wet earth and spring. How  _ awful _ . I struggled out of the house anyway, bending under its oppressive weight. By the side of the door we found the mound of earth where the boy had tried to plant the nut already. But when I touched the earth, only a ghost of frost left my fingers, and vanished quickly. My lady put the nut back in the ground quickly and tried to press it down with my hand; only a brief silvering outline spread around my fingers, and faded away again. I was too weary to conjure up any frost. I shook my head. I needed sleep, I needed the cold, I needed to stop this throbbing wound from opening up, _ again! _

My Lady dug up the nut and ran around to the other side of the house. I couldn’t get up off the ground any more. I leaned against the side of the house to stabilize myself and they all crowded around me in a circle. Expectantly waiting for me to die. I was sweaty and it glistened off me. I’m sure it was radiant to them. I shut my eyes against the bright sun and my lady rushed back to me grabbing my arms “It went through! It went over! What else do I do?”. My eyes were clouded over and I could hardly see her, “Call it forth. Call it forth if you can.” I whispered. “How?” she asked, but I closed his eyes and said nothing. I didn’t know how she could ever do it.  _ I _ couldn’t do it anymore, there may not be any magic left in this world for all I knew. 

“Miryem,” her father said slowly. I flinched. It still hurt to hear them use her name so casually. “It is the wrong month, but the trees have not been in bloom before, and the fruit is not grown. We can say the blessing.” 

_ ‘Did he have magic too? Was this an entire family of witches?’ _

“Some even say it helps those whose souls have returned to the world in fruit or trees, to move onward.” he added.  _ ‘So they did have magic’ _ . White trees help the souls of those who died in battle or otherwise honorably pass on. They gathered in a circle and began to chant in their magic tongue, it all sounded like nonsense. But it did not matter. Magic was less about the words and more about the intent. It sounded pleasant enough. This would be a nice thing to hear before I died at least.

They stopped and waited for a moment. Then the little boy squealed in joy and ran away. My eyes were still closed and I heard them shuffle away towards the front of the house. I began to feel a tingling in my chest.  _ ‘Was this what dying felt like?’ _ It was comforting. I felt colder, at last, I would die but my soul would be in the glass mountain! Someone came to force me up and then another. My eyes were still closed as I tried to hold on to the cold feeling. They lay me down on the ground and I felt colder. How  _ wonderful _ . I felt frost climbing over me and my eyes shot open as I gasped. The air was cold! I sat up and there was a white tree sapling next to me and it was growing quickly. I started to weep with elation. There was still a chance. The glass mountain might not crumble!

I placed my hands in the trunk and frost shot out from my hands. It turned into brilliant silver and gold flowers. I reached up to one of the blossoms and looked at it bemused. How could this be? My love truly was a Staryk queen. I would devote my life to loving her and giving her everything she desired. Time and again she had proven just how valuable she was, how worthy of my kingdom. And how unworthy _ I _ had been. 

“It grew, it grew,” the little boy was saying; gulping with sobs himself. I turned away from this magnificent tree and put my hand on the gate to swing it open. On the other side of it my white road was standing lined with other white trees, but it didn’t run on forever into winter anymore like it should have. There was a darkness at the other end, a cloud of smoke and burning. I looked at it with hard eyes, and then stepped through and walked a little way down the road, and a white stag came bounding out of the trees. YES! There were still animals who could aid us. There was still a chance. It took a great effort not to throw my fist into the air and cheer. But I still had  _ some _ dignity I could protect.

They were all behind me and they moved back as soon as they saw the elk coming for me. All except my Lady. She was so brave now. She almost died of fright when she saw one the first time. I went towards it, and as I mounted it, my foot was no longer bare; a silver boot closed around it, and then I was all in silver, in armor and white fur, looking down at the mortals. It felt good to be in my gorgeously tailored protective gear. 

_ ‘I am a god!’ _ And I finally looked the part. Then I held my hand out to Lady, and said, “Chernobog is in my kingdom. As I have promised, so will I do: if he is cast out, and my people made safe, I will not bring back the winter. You asked for alliance to see it done: will you still come and lend your aid, though he is no more in your own world?”. I looked into her clear blue eyes as she stared up at me. I thought I saw a faint hint of appreciation for my clothing. But her eyes were also fearful and unsure. She looked towards the white tree and said “Yes, I’ll come, and do what I can— _ if _ you’ll bring me back after!” A deal was a deal, and I had promised to let her go free. I let out a small sigh of disappointment I was sure she didn’t catch. “My road still does not run under green trees, lady, and you have already made me promise to lift the winter, if we are victorious”. I couldn’t hold her against her will anymore, not after our bargain. I tried not to curse the thought. “But summer will not last forever, even if I lift my hand, and this much I can offer you: on the first day the next snow falls, I will open my road hence, and return you to your family’s home.” Perhaps she would decide to stay once I gave her her due as a queen. 

She looked back at her family and ran to them quickly, and kissed them all, and she whispered to her mother, “Look for me on the first day of winter,” then turned back to me and took my hand. I pulled her up onto the back of my stag easily. She was so thin, I’d have to plump her up. I rode quickly to save my kingdom of ice, my now  _ former _ wife holding on to my waist.


	2. Winter Winds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miryem and the Staryk Lord race to fight Chernobog

Winter winds

We rode down the white road with snow and ash blowing in our faces. The hot flecks stung on my arms and cheeks, but we were progressing quickly. The road was a blurred gray slush beneath us. With every bound of the stag, going as fast as it could brought us closer to the smell of fire and flesh. Another jump and we were under burning pine trees, a terrible red roaring flame above our heads. One more leap after that, hearts pounding, chests heaving. The road burst out from beneath the trees and was running next to the river. But it was a river in spring, roaring, cracked chunks of ice bobbing and smashing against one another as they swept past us downstream. Scattered silver coins were gleaming among them, and I gave a cry of horror as I saw ahead the waterfall, alive again: a roaring torrent, bursting from the side of the mountain, crashing down in clouds of mist. It was worse than I could have imagined. My mountain was crumbling in all this heat! At the base of it, Chernobog danced and twirled with his arms in the air shrieking in delight. 

He’d swelled out of his human size to become monstrously large. A towering figure of charcoal covered thickly with ash; laced with deep cracks where glowing red veins of heat showed through, open flames only flaring here and there from his body. He put his face into the falling water and drank in rapacious gulps and grew a little larger. Coins of silver were shining like a carapace over his face and shoulders, scattered on him by the falls. He wasn’t standing there alone: a knot of my knights were trying to fight him, flinging silver spears at him from the shore of the spreading waterfall pool, but they couldn’t get close enough to aim accurately. The spears bounced off or melted before they could pierce him. There was a forest of spears floating on the water, scattered and scorched. He wasn’t bothering to turn away from his gluttonous drinking either. That is how little my knights affected him...

I leapt off the stag and cried to her, “The mountain must be held against him, do whatever you can!” Then I drew a silver sword and ran to the pool and put my foot out onto the surface. Ice grew solid underneath my footfalls. I ran straight at the demon on a shining white road of fresh ice. In his ecstatic hunger, Chernobog didn’t see me coming; I swung the sword into his monstrous leg, carving deep. Chernobog roared in fury as ice spread in a crackling wave over the surface.  **_Finally!_ ** I could  _ do _ something! The mountain might be melting but I could still freeze it solid again in time.

My knights and I started to pierce his armor of molten flesh. Anywhere I froze a layer, was a place where they could slough off a piece of him. He would be flayed with ice and silver. If only I had asked my Lady to turn some of our weapons golden. Then we would be more effective. ‘ _ Too late now’ _ . We had to do what we could. There  _ must  _ be a way to finish him off. I parried out of his grasp as Czernobog tried to flick me away like a bug. He hit a different knight and he flew away into the river. Stunned for a second and partially melted.  _ ‘No time to give him aid’. _ I circled my prey like a snow leopard. Edging my way closer as he fought with my soldiers. I froze a circle around him and kept giving it more of my magic.

My knights kept hurling spears at him and they were finally damaging his outer layer now that my frost was creeping up over him. Swords clanged against his flesh and they left more frost behind. It was  _ working _ . We could do this! Czernobog shrieked and he melted a layer of frost as steam rose around him. It obscured my vision and Czernobog grabbed another soldier and threw him away into the river. But the first knight was already back in our circle of ice and we kept pushing in on the demon. He dipped his hands into the river and drank another handful of the mountain’s power. No.  **_No!_ ** He was draining us of our power as we fought him. There wasn’t much to do . I had to think of another way. It wouldn’t be long before he was too powerful for all of us, even fighting together. He was _ laughing _ at me! I was nothing to him anymore, we were no match for him _ and  _ **_our_ ** magic together. He was sucking us all dry with his terrible heat.

Then I heard my Lady shout out from the crack in my mountain top. “Chernobog! Chernobog!”, we all looked up at her. So distant and still so fierce. “Chernobog, I give you my word! By high magic I’m going to close this mountain crack now, and shut you out for good!” His eyes widened. “Never, never!” he shrieked up at her. “It is mine, mine, a well for me!” and he flung himself at the mountainside and began to claw his way up towards my Lady.

I was taken aback for a moment and mobilized my guards. “ Let us go to the mountain so we can quench the demon's flame!” They rallied against me and we ran to the gates. I banged on the door and  _ ‘Schofer’ _ opened it. “Where has my Lady  _ gone _ ?! Where did she lead the Demon?” my voice was ragged with fear and desperatlion. She  _ couldn’t _ die, I wouldn’t  _ let  _ her die alone engulfed in flame.  _ Schofer _ looked distraught and stumbled over his words. He was sweating profusely. “She asked me to take her to the fissure in the mountain, my Lord. It’s just past the third store room. The empty one.” I told my men to guard the women and children as my feet carried me to my Lady.

I rushed to the tunnel running parallel beside it, the deep crystalline walls breathing faint fog around us, full of the low groaning creaks of a frozen lake beginning to break up in spring. And then the path ended suddenly in another tunnel, its sides very smooth, and the river became wide running down it. I was running faster than I thought, my feet as swift as winter winds. I ran through the first store room, piles of gold everywhere, the second was even larger. The air was getting colder. Colder than it should be with Czernobog inside. I pushed open the heavy wooden doors of the last storeroom and I saw my lady love struggling in the torrent of water, ice chunks freezing and pushing against her. Her legs were caught with shards of ice and they were digging into her thighs. My heart beats slowed but grew stronger as I saw her in danger.

I was still running to her as the surface of the river started to freeze over, my presence hastening their growth. I reached down and plucked her from the water by her waist. I was panting as I placed her gently on the riverbank, my fingers refusing to relinquish her. I could feel the sweat pouring from my forehead in thick droplets. I kept my hands around her as I regained my composure. My face cooled down enough to stop sweating in the heat of the room. I finally had the wherewithal to look around and search for Czernobog. My eyes grew wide as I saw the latticework of glimmering gold closing the hole in the mountain. 

I turned back and seized both of her hands in mine, gripping them tight as I stared down at her beautiful bruised face. Sun warmed gold shining off her silky brown hair and tan skin. I almost reached out to kiss her and press her into me. But before I could, I felt the cold clink of icy chains around my neck. I was bound by our agreement. I couldn’t kiss her or seduce her, or any of the things I wanted to anymore. She wasn’t  _ mine _ anymore and I couldn’t make her mine until I released her home to her parents on the first day of winter.

I let go of her small soft hands and stepped back and in a deep graceful courtesy; went down on one knee before my lady love. I bowed my head as obsequiously as I could manage without making a fool of myself, and said, “Lady, though you choose a home in the sunlit world, you are a Staryk Queen indeed.” 

She looked up at me and smiled a bit before she curtsied in response. “I don’t know how I did it. It’s almost too fantastic to believe” her voice a fluttering sound of joy “But  _ you _ knew somehow. Didn’t you?” I stared at her in utter disbelief. She had managed to perform another miracle. She saved everyone in the mountain. She cast Czernobog out. A mere mortal was the truest Staryk queen we had seen in our history. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and feel her soft lips against mine. I almost did on impulse, but I felt those chains rattling in the back of my mind.

I realized that now the new bargain had overwritten the first one and I could answer any question I wanted to. “I hoped you would find a way to make another miracle. You had already proven yourself so many times. You turned silver to gold at your touch, transformed three storerooms, called forth a white tree…” I trailed off as I swept my arm around the room. “There is nothing you cannot make true, it seems.” I bowed again, though not as deeply, and we walked out of the room and back to my troops. I ordered my remaining troops to search for the wounded and bring them back to receive care. “They will fill again when the winter comes,” I said when we’d walked through the lower passageways together, to see what harm had been done.

My people could feel that the danger was gone. Czernobog had slunk away back into the sunlit world. He would never return again. Not with all that gold sealing the crack. The walls of the glass mountain were secure now, but many of the pools down below had gone dry in Chernobog’s attack, and more of the vineyards and orchards had died. It would be a lean summer for everyone. But we’d fed the children first, and then shared what there was left inside our hiding place. Even though she was exhausted, my Lady took the administration of our resources as soon as we had eaten.

She ordered the soldiers around, not realizing she could ask them questions now. But I let her, it was important for everyone to see how capable she was even when not using high magic. We’d buried the dead and treated the wounded, laying them in quiet rows beneath the white trees: I carefully took shavings of ice from the very wellspring of the stream, and laid them on their wounds, and put my hands on either side and coaxed it to grow and merge with their bodies. Some of the great caverns had closed themselves up like turtles pulling into their shells. I led her back to her chambers after we had finished most of the work, her head was starting to droop with weariness and I didn’t want her to injure herself from all the effort. 

She was so tired she didn’t even notice that she had opened the door herself. I looked on astonishedly, then walked through. “You will be safe and free within the glass mountain until you are returned to the arms of your family”. I reached out and touched her bruised cheek and let it cool the heat emanating from it. She let out a small gasp of surprise. “For the pain, my Lady” and I waved a hand dismissively as she stared at me gratefully with a smile. My cheeks blushed blue slightly and I bade farewell. Backing away I could still see through the walls, though she couldn’t tell that. And she flopped onto the large bed with a sigh of relief. And frustration, maybe?

I wanted to touch her and lie in that bed together. I wanted to push her hair behind her ear and kiss the curve of her jaw. I let out a sigh as I walked into my chamber and started imagining everything I wanted to do to her,  _ with _ her. I felt my cheeks ice over in slight embarrassment. Even though no one was watching or could read my thoughts, I felt ashamed of my outward expression of my emotions. I sat up suddenly, did she even find me attractive? Would she want my fingers caressing her soft skin? Would she shudder at my touch in disgust, instead of quivering in anticipation? It would kill me to have her shun me and refuse her hand. 

I couldn’t seduce her without her permission. I couldn’t cloud her mind with soft, firm kisses and make her knees melt. She wouldn’t be convinced to give in to me and my desire for her. I had to wait. I had to plan. And hope it came to fruition. This would be the worst kind of torture. I would have my hands tied behind my back every day until winter. I would feel that icy collar around my neck preventing me from doing everything I wanted to that supple flesh.

I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the low deep throbbing in my breeches. Everytime I moved I would feel her waist in my hands. Every tiny bit of light was the gold radiating off her skin. She had fully invaded my mind and she didn’t know  _ or _ care! For a moment in the storeroom I thought I saw her move a bit closer to me as I fought not to kiss her. Did she want me too? Or was it all my imagination?

I tried to push away these feelings of longing. Then suddenly the memory of her crying in bed on “shabbat” or whatever holiday she observed that night popped into my mind. Her small frame curled into a puddle on that large bed murmuring magic spells in her foreign tongue. The tears rolling off of her well defined cheeks. Her brown hair cascading around her on the pillows. I pulled a plump pillow to my arms and lay on my side in an attempt to comfort myself. I pretended it was her and fell asleep. I dreamed of her all night. All the idiotic things I did. Every petty insult I laid at her feet. She would never want me. Not after everything I did. I was fortunate enough to have had her return and help save the Staryk people. I shouldn’t ask anything else of her.

In the fields below, we cut back the dead vines and trees, and started cuttings from what had lived, to make ready for a new planting. It was not as much as we wanted, but it would be what we needed, at least. I almost expected my Lady to start growing crops with a wave of her hand, but that was ridiculous to think. She wasn’t all powerful, though she was gifted. I fell more in love with her each passing day. And each night her image would crawl into my mind and I would hold her there until the morning light broke the illusion. I made myself promise not to make a fool of myself or overstep. I vowed not to pressure her or coerce her in any way. I did not want to rule her anymore. She ruled  _ me _ . Even if she didn’t know it. I also promised myself not to fall to pieces if she refused to marry me come winter. That one was a lie I told myself every night.

*******

On the eve of Midsummer, weeks after we’d buried our dead, Fleck came to see me in my receiving hall. She told me that if I let her go I would be “the most foolish king to ever have sat upon the throne”. I agreed with her and told her of my plans to propose the day she returned to the sunlit world. “Well, I am glad to see you are not in here twiddling your thumbs. She is more invaluable than anyone this kingdom has ever seen. Mortal or not.” She said more forcefully than I would have expected for a former servant. She was a leopard in waiting, disguised in gray rags for most of her life. My Lady had made a good choice in this Bondswoman. “I am bound by my agreement with my Lady. I cannot ask for her hand or try to charm her before the bargain is complete. If I could have, I _ would  _ have crowned her again the night she defeated Czernobog!” Fleks eyes held me for a moment and said “Then you will need to find your way around the rules. Bend them the way Openhanded has done so many times before”. It was still a shock to hear my wife's title in another's mouth. Even  _ I  _ didn’t say it. I did not yet have the right.

********

It was just weeks after Czernobog’s defeat, and there hadn’t been time or resources for anything grand for the celebration. I decided to give my former wife a gown of cool silvery silk. It ran through the fingers like water, and caught the light coming in through the mountain. I imagined what she would look like in it and my heart was racing again. I felt my cheeks go blue. I didn’t hand it to her personally, that would have been improper, and far too forward. I gave it to ‘ _ Fleck’ _ to give to one of my Lady’s servants. I didn’t want her to feel pressured into wearing it. Though I knew she would undoubtedly look exquisite in it.

She wore it with her hair braided up in a beautiful crown of brown hair around her head. There were little wisps falling out of the small braids and flowers delicately placed around her head. My heart stopped when I saw her coming through the archway. Absolutely ravishing. 

She danced in a circle with her friends and some of the other noblewomen. Then ‘Flek’s’ daughter ran up to my Lady and she swung the small child around. I imagined her doing that with our daughter. It was almost too much for me to bear. My heart was overflowing with love and desire. Towards the end of the dancing I marched over to her and bowed deeply. I held out my hand and asked her to share a dance with me. She smiled brightly and we led two lines through the grove beneath the white trees. They shed their last remaining flowers and it almost looked like snow gently falling around my Lady. This was the most perfect moment I had ever experienced. Her beauty, the grove, the celebration. It was almost like a wedding, my wedding,  _ our _ wedding. The way it  _ could _ have been. If I had been a wiser man...

After that, I laid a penance on myself and all the work I did was done in servants rough spun clothes. It was still the purest white that my station demanded, but I didn’t allow myself to be comfortable. Most of what had happened was because I had been foolish. Rather than take pride in a victory that wasn’t truly mine, I worked to earn the forgiveness of all the people who had died for my folly. 

Days turned into weeks, weeks somehow into months. The white trees had bloomed again this morning, full of leaves and flowers. It was finally winter. My heart couldn’t decide if it was happy or if it would shrivel away inside my chest. There were still a few gaps left in the circles in the grove, where some of them had died in Chernobog’s attack. But in each of those spaces, one of the fallen knights had been buried with a silver fruit upon his breast. Thin white saplings had come out of the ground when my Lady called them with the blessing. They’d keep growing here, even after she had gone. My heart ached at the thought. 

I would do anything to make her stay. She might not return with me. She might refuse my proposal. I tried not to think on it. My mind twisted on all the possibilities and I tried to focus on better things. At the very least, I would be true, and she would be happy. Whether with me, or with her family. Or with another man... if it came to that. My heart lurched at the new thought.

The preparations I had made with Tsop, Fleck and Shofer would finally be done. I organized a giant farewell celebration. Though I still hoped it would be all for naught and she would come home with me to the glass mountain. I waited for her by the sleigh in all my finery, hoping to catch her eye, but still dignified and respectful of the occasion and her rank. And in the very front rank, just behind the sleigh, were Flek and Tsop and Shofer, with Flek’s daughter all wide eyed with excitement to see the mortal world.

Behind the sleigh, a full and dazzling company of the Staryk had assembled, mounted on the backs of sharp-antlered deer. The knights and nobles carried white hawks on jeweled gauntlets.White hounds clustered around the hooves of their mounts, and silver and jewels gleamed on their pale leather. Even some of the farmers were there, looking at once excited and afraid, plainly uneasy about going to the sunlit world but coming to see her off in their best clothes, their hair strung with silver. I held out my hand to my lady and her eyes were glossy as she held back tears. She must want to stay!  _ ‘NO. _ ’ 

I pushed the thought down and helped her into the sleigh. But before she sat, she took it all in again. Smiling widely and she slid in gracefully. The sleigh open to display my most valuable possession. Damn it. She  _ wasn’t _ mine… Not  _ now, _ and perhaps not ever. But I was hers… Now until all the ice in the world melted, I was hers. I resisted the urge to clutch at my now shriveled heart. I was preparing myself to never see her beautiful face again. To never see those blue eyes that could level me with a glance. To never see those soft brown waves bouncing around her shoulders as she sang her blessings. To never see that smirk creep onto her face when she thought of her own private jokes; something amusing that no Staryk ever understood.

She blinked away tears and I made the road come towards us as fast as the deer could run. I wanted her to be happy again. She needed to see her family. I needed to be free of my constraints. I wanted to profess my love and desire but this collar was still firmly pressed around my neck. The icy wind calmed my stomach, it was still rioting against my belly with nerves. I wouldn’t show my feelings yet. I could make it. I had made it this far without breaking my oath. I could do this. I would let her be happy. I wouldn’t take that away from her, even if it crushed me. I saw the lone white tree come into view and my heart sank. My heart felt like it slowed to a crawl but my face was nearly sweating with anxiety.

My Lady had started crying softly again, the droplets pooling in her lids as the little witches hut came into view. The sleigh stopped before the gate, just by the tree. I stepped out of it, and gave my hand to help her down. The procession was still gathered behind us, but Flek and Tsop and Shofer had climbed down; one of the others was holding the reins of their mounts. We all bowed to her. She drew a deep breath and went to each of them and kissed them on their cheeks. She reached up and took off the necklace of gold she was wearing, and put it around the little girl’s neck. “Thank you, Open-Handed,” she said a little softly and tentatively, and Flek twitched a little as if in uncertain alarm; but my Lady bent and kissed her forehead and said, “You’re welcome, little snowflake,” My heart leapt, she could love a Staryk child. Perhaps she could love a Staryk man.

She turned and walked to the gate, and put her hand on it. It swung open and one of the goats, who had been grazing under the light snow at the posts, startled and made a loud complaining baa-ing and fled away towards the barn. I walked quietly behind her but let her go. I felt the collar unclasp and fall away. I was free to profess my intentions to her. The door of the house opened at once, and her mother was standing there. A shawl clutched around her shoulders and hope in her face, as if she’d been waiting by it eagerly; she gave a cry and ran towards my Lady down the path with the shawl flying off behind her onto the snow. My Lady ran to her and fell into her arms laughing and crying. Happy tears were the only ones I wanted her to have from now on. Her father was right behind her with his bushy beard and little hat. The blonde woman and her two brothers ran out after them; they all came around her: her parents, her sister, and her brothers. 

She turned back to us and looked surprised we had not vanished into a flurry of snow and wind. The other mortals looked at me warily. She tipped her head up to me and smiled brightly, “Will you let me thank you, this once, for bringing me home?” I shook my head and said, “Lady, I would scorn to bind you with such a trick,” My heart was beating in my ears and I beckoned Flek, Tsop and Shofer to come into the yard, each carrying a chest, and the little snowflake girl followed them, holding a small box. They put them down on the ground and opened them: two full of silver, one of gold, and the little box full of clear jewels. My heart was in my throat but I turned to her parents, and said with as much conviction as I could muster, “You have a daughter of your house unwed, whose hand I would seek; I am the lord of the white forest and the mountain of glass, and hither I have come with my people assembled for witness to declare to you my intent. With these gifts for your house to make proof of my worth, to ask your consent that I may court her.” her parents stared wide eyed and then stilled. My Lady glared at me with a fury I had never seen from her. Would she really refuse me? So  **_vehemently_ ** ? Was I mistaken to hope at all? My heart physically hurt as it beat in my chest, tight and unsure of itself. 

“If you really wanted to court me, you’d have to do it by my family’s laws, and you’d have to marry me the same way”. she said haughty, “Save your time!” I paused and looked at her, my eyes wide and hopeful. My heart beat became more controlled, slipping back into its proper rhythm. I took a step towards her, and held out my hand, and said urgently, “And if so? Whatever they are, I will venture them, if you will give me hope.” Any task I would complete, any trial would be satisfied. I would do anything as long as she would be waiting for me at the end of it. 

She folded her arms “Oh, will you? I wouldn’t regret any man who wouldn’t do that, no matter what else he was or offered me; that much had lived in my heart all my life, a promise between me and my people, that my children would still be Israel no matter where they lived. I wouldn’t hold myself that cheap, to marry a man who’d love me less than everything else he had.” Her demands were so reasonable. I didn’t know what children of Israel were exactly but as long as they were ours it wouldn't matter. I was silent for a moment thinking over how simple this all was, I could have her free and clear as long as I followed her customs. My eyes were glittering with joy though I kept a giant smile from my face. I would look like a happy fool if I did that. I had to try to retain some semblance of decorum.

Her mother came closer to us and proudly proclaimed “And a way for her to come home, whenever she wants to visit her family!” I stared at her: she was holding my Lady’s hand tight and glaring at me fiercely. I turned to her and said, “My road opens only in winter, but while it does, I will bring her at her will: does that content you?” 

“So long as winter doesn’t up and vanish whenever you don’t want her to go!” her mother said tartly. I could see where my betrothed got her spirit. My betrothed! It was so extraordinary to think of the word, the  _ title _ . Soon enough she would be my wife, truly this time. She reached up and took my hand in hers smiling with her whole face, her eyes full of bliss. We walked towards her family and they all hugged me. Stiffly at first but they gathered around us and a communal sigh of relief and happiness made the hug a comfort. My soon-to-be father-in-law broke the embrace, looked me fiercely in the eyes and announced, “Now it’s time to start negotiations for the Ketubah!” That word held no meaning to me but I was more than happy to bargain for my ladies hand. My future  **_wife_ ** !


	3. Ketubah Negotiations and Wedding Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miryem and the Staryk Lord discuss some of the finer points of Jewish traditions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning to anyone not in a secure reading location:
> 
> There is a _lot _of sex talk in this chapter as marital rights are explicitly stated in the Talmud.  
>  Don't read this until you are in a comfortable and secure place to read an explicit marriage contract. Don't blame me if someone reads something naughty over your shoulder and you get embarrassed.__
> 
> __I did research on this to get as much of it correct as possible. If I got something wrong, let me know what, and how to fix it in the comments._ _

Ketubah...I had never heard of it, but it was required if I was to marry my Lady. She explained to me that it was a Jewish marriage contract. So she was  _ Jewish _ ? In the months that I had known her I hadn’t thought much on it. I had been too focused on finishing the bargain so I could propose to worry about what her religion would say on the matter. The Ketubah is considered an integral part of a marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. I was  **_thrilled_ ** ! I could bargain with my lady and know exactly what was expected from each of us. It was like finding a shorter path to bliss than you had previously thought possible. I could please her in the ways she expected, and I would know what to expect from her as well! It was incredibly enticing. 

I felt my cheeks turn blue but I hid it well and cleared my throat. I was glad her parents weren't at the table with us. They knew enough to know they didn’t have the talent to make bargains with me. My lady was firmly in control of what was happening. I had  _ never _ found her more attractive, in my life. There was always a new level to her dominance and skill.

“The husband takes upon himself, in the  _ ketubah, _ the obligation that he will provide to his wife three major things: clothing, food and conjugal relations, also that he will pay her a pre-specified amount of money in the case of a divorce” she explained. I wouldn’t divorce her, she would be a queen, forever. Why would anyone marry and plan for it to fail to the point of separation? I was bound until the end of our lives to honor her and provide for her. No matter what happened. The only exception was if she committed high treason and made an attempt on my life. Then the high council would annul our marriage and she would be punished accordingly. 

My betrothed had a price tag associated with her social standing and virginity. That seemed odd to me. We Staryk didn’t place much value on a maidenhead, though we had traded for it with humans, since it was valuable to them. And I had already offered her far more than the minimum requirement for a woman of her age and rank in the mortal world. The contract would be signed by two witnesses and then we would be allowed to marry. It must also be displayed prominently in one of the main rooms of my palace that all may know of our bargain. That I had to amend. If I had to sign my name alongside her’s I didn’t want anyone to be able to trap me with my name. 

“Fair enough” my Lady said “but we shall hide it somewhere safe that it will not be damaged. And so that either of us may look upon it and refresh our memory as to what we owe to each other. Will that satisfy you?”

“Yes my Lady. As long as our names are not on display for our enemies to see and **_steal,_ ** I will acquiesce” and I kissed her hand lightly. It felt so warm and soft underneath my lips. I forced myself to make it brief. I didn’t want to dishonor her in front of her family though they weren't directly in the room. I still wasn’t sure what was taboo in their culture. The night grew dark and so we bid each other farewell. I, with a bow, she with a curtsy. This first day of negotiations had drawn to a close.

I walked outside and saw my camp lit silver against the moon. I took in a deep breath of fresh cold air and reveled in just how delectable it was to bargain with my future wife. I never thought it would be so exciting. I was jittery with glee,  _ almost _ . I practically waltzed into my tent and ate a few bites of fruit before I sat on my cushioned pallet. ‘ _ I’m so glad I brought so many servants _ ’ I mused. Otherwise I might have had to drive back the entire procession so we could sleep in the glass mountain. It would have taken far too much time to travel between the worlds every day. But soon we would have an agreement, and  _ I _ would have a queen.

*************************************

The next morning after my servants helped dress me, I knocked on the door to the little house and waited for my lady love to answer the door. When the Blonde girl opened the door with startled eyes, I realized I knocked too forcefully in my haste to continue negotiations. I sat at the table as everyone went about their daily chores. It was warm in the house but I could bare it just fine now that I was at full strength. She came into the room in a simple dress of red wool. And with no preamble, sat down and started to speak.  _ Sexy. _

“We must also build a wedding canopy to marry under” She said as I reached for her hand. She blushed slightly “It is required as part of the ceremony. I will need to circle you seven times before the vows are said. It wards off evil intent but mostly, it is for the seven blessings, and so that I can make sure you are comley and I accept you before we proceed”. I took in a slow, satisfied breath and said in a wheedling tone “Are you not yet sure if I am  _ comley _ ?”. She looked shocked and moved on to another part of the contract.  _ ‘I hit the mark squarely’ _

She cleared her throat and slowly began “You remember that there are requirements of you. To provide three basic necessities.  _ Correct _ ?”

“Yes,” I raised my hand and counted off, “Food, clothing and...  _ intimate relations” _ . My heart was pounding in my chest. “Do we need to be more specific than that my Lady?” My cheeks were blue and I couldn’t hide it, at all.

“Yes, well, there are laws dictating the rules of ‘ _ engagement’  _ and the--- pleasures of the marriage bed.” her face was bright pink and she quoted a passage from the holy text “Well, ‘A man is forbidden to compel his wife to have marital relations’ Whosoever compels his wife to have marital relations will have unworthy children; or so it is interpreted.” My jaw could have dropped if I didn’t have so much self control. “Any man who would force his wife is a wight!” She let out a small breath. “I wasn’t sure how it worked with the Staryk. We hear so much of what happened during the raids.”

My face grew stiff with discomfort. “Ah. Well--- they aren’t wives.” She shot a dangerous glance at me “But as we agreed before, that will no longer happen!” I finished quickly. A bit ashamed of my tackless answer.  _ ‘I am a complete imbecile when it comes to mortals’ _ . She went on reading her book “The times for conjugal duty prescribed in the Talmud are: for men of independent means, every day; for laborers, twice a week; for donkey drivers, once a week; for camel drivers, once in thirty days; for sailors, once in six months.” 

She looked a bit abashed as she said it. “It is part of our laws. It is a wife's right and a husband's obligation to provide ‘ _ services’ _ .--- Um--- so there is more” I wanted to take her in my arms and comply with her laws right away. I could have her every night as long as she desired me.  _ ‘I will make sure you desire me. I’d do everything to please you. I might even make you beg!’ _ I shook my head slightly to bring myself back to reality. She was entitled to the pleasures of the flesh. I couldn’t,  _ shouldn’t _ , make her beg, that would make me a wight. Though it might be exciting to hear her call out for me to satisfy the desire raging within her.

“‘There must be close bodily contact during intercourse.’ Uh...This means that a husband must not treat his wife in the manner of the ‘unholy’, who perform their marital duties in their clothes; if he does, he must divorce her and also give her the Ketubah settlement.” One of my eyebrows rose and she continued on, though a bit warily. She looked like a rabbit in the brush waiting for a fox to snatch her. It was so provocative hearing her take control of her own pleasure and my duties to provide them. I breathed in sharply through my nose and slowly let it out. A small fog built up around us. 

“This part is a bit,” she paused, “well.. Specific.” I nodded to encourage her  _ ‘Hasn’t all of this been specific?Or at least explicit?’  _ My betrothed continued in a small voice” ‘Since a man’s wife is permitted to him, he may act with her in any manner whatsoever. He may have intercourse with her whenever he so desires and kiss any organ of her body he wishes, and he may have intercourse with her naturally or unnaturally, provided that he does not expend” she halted and seemed embarrassed but continued, “...  _ semen _ ... for no purpose. Nevertheless, it is an attribute of piety that a man should not act in this matter with levity and that he should sanctify himself at the time of intercourse’.... It means...”

“Oh I know what it means,” I said excitedly. The fog grew thicker as she looked at me. If I hadn’t promised not to take her before our marriage, I’d have swept her off her feet that instant. I could feel my skin getting prickly with excitement. I'd have kissed her and laid her on the nearest comfortable spot and stripped off all her fine clothing. I'd discovered the topography of her supple skin with my mouth. 

After all, I was  **permitted** under her laws, if not outright  **encouraged** . I could please her in any number of ways as long as she accepted. I had to keep my arms firmly at my side so I didn’t throw her over my shoulder and take her back to my kingdom to press her into my lavish bed.  _ Our _ lavish bed. I’d have her sleep in my rooms too, that way we could enjoy each other every night. As it was required of me,  _ of course _ .

She flushed red all over and she stuttered “Now back to the Canopy!” she wiped a bit of sweat off her brow. “We moved on to other things too quickly and forgot my main point. You will need to build a Chuppah for us to be married under. It was the custom when a boy was born to plant a cedar tree and when a girl was born to plant a pine tree, and when they married, the tree was cut down and a canopy made of the branches---” I grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “I have no such tree, Lady. What may I use as a substitute?”. She pulled her hand away gently, with a soft blush to her cheeks and quietly said,“You may use any type of wood for the poles and any fabric for the curtains you wish. You can’t be expected to have a tree ready when you didn’t know you would marry a Jewish girl.” she looked down at her papers and her lips moved to the side. Not in grimace. But, mildly perturbed?

“Shall I send someone to cut down your tree for you? Where is it planted?” she looked up. “Oh, there is a tree in my grandfather’s garden. We never expected to live in Pavis forever, and the home I grew up in was not our own. It belongs to the boyar.” She glanced at her mother who had walked through the room. “We can ask your grandfather to bring it when he comes for the wedding”. Her mother looked at me with a faint flicker of discomfort. “I can ask him to come a few days earlier so that it can be crafted with your husband's wood”. My future mother-in-law looked abashed and walked away quickly. I felt as though a euphemism flew over my head. My Lady cleared her throat and answered.

“I shall find a suitable tree to cut down and turn into this ‘ _ Chuppah’ _ for you. I shall have my weavers make a large sheet of the finest silk, under which we will be wed.” I had a thought that tickled my brain. I would have one sheet of silver, and the other of gold.  _ ‘Our two halves would be united in silk as well as magic _ ’. She nodded and continued. “Well that is almost everything that we need to negotiate. Everything else is merely details with the ceremony itself. Are there any traditions you would like to observe?” It was such a simple thing, but I hadn’t even thought of it. Then it came to me. “The night before our wedding I will give you a poem”

“A poem? That’s all you want?” I nodded. 

“I have agreed to follow all your customs and I will die before I break my word to you  _ or _ your family. Your faith and customs are far more important than any of mine would have been. But there is one I would like to perform so long as it doesn’t interfere with that”. She smiled a tiny smile of disbelief and shook her head. “I would gladly receive your poem. It is agreed! The night before our wedding you will give me a poem”.

I rose and bowed my head to her. “Very well, Lady. I will prepare the  _ Chuppah _ and order my servants to clear a space so your family may sit comfortably during the ceremony. Have you decided when that will happen?”

“In twelve days. I will ask my father to walk you through the ceremony so you will know what to do. And I will begin preparing my bridal chest” she looked flustered. 

“Why not sooner, Lady? Why must we wait so long?” Her eyes shot up at me 

“I need to have a proper Shabbat with my female relatives. Since that will happen tomorrow night I need time to gather them and prepare the proper celebrations and blessings.” 

I nodded “I will wait as long as is necessary so that all your traditions are observed. I will not renege on my promise. Are you willing to have a small banquet with the high lords of my--- _ our _ kingdom when we return to the glass mountain? Would it be an issue to have a second ceremony for them?”

She nodded “Of course, your traditions must be observed too”. I bowed again and walked out of the witch's little hut. I strode up to one of my valets and ordered him to bring the Lord Commander of the kingsguard to my tent. I sat by my small writing desk and made an effort to put my feelings into words. Well, words that weren’t perverse and  _ entirely _ focused on my carnal desires. I couldn't be sure that some of it would not pervade the text anyway. But I would make my affection known. The Lord Commander walked up to my tent and cleared his throat and said “You requested my presence, your majesty?”

“Yes, enter.” He opened the tent flap and walked in cautiously. “I need you to send a few good men to go back to the glass mountain and cut down a white tree.” His eyes widened but he didn’t say anything. “I need to make a wedding canopy for my Lady. It can be of any wood, but it is supposed to be of some significance. Preferably from a tree as old as I am.” He nodded and his eyes returned to normal. “Can you offer any suggestions on whom to complete the task?”

“My second in command is the son of a craftsman. He would know how to choose quality wood. But, your majesty---,” he looked at me apprehensively. I nodded at him to continue “Is it necessary to  _ kill _ the tree? Can we simply take a few branches off?” He said hopefully. “A tree as old as you will be much larger than any tree that grows in this forest. A simple canopy wouldn’t require such large pieces of wood from a great tree”.

“You may be right.” I acknowledged “My Lady said it needed to be cut, but I will ask her father if this is an acceptable replacement. Wait here”. I walked back over to the house and knocked on the door again. It felt so odd to make calls on someone's home. I was a king. I should have sent a servant. But I was sure it would insult my Lady and her family to have me send another to do such a simple task. They were not accustomed to having  _ true _ servants. The blond family that resided with them was now considered family. However  _ that _ worked.

My Lady opened the door “I am surprised to see you so soon. Are you here to make amendments to the Ketubah?  _ Already? _ ” I shook my head. “No, Lady. I must speak with your father. It is about the ceremony and the things required of me. Is he yet returned from the field?” She nodded. “Yes, he just came back a few minutes ago. There isn’t much for him to do in winter except clear the snow off the path. Papa!” She called him for me. “My  _ betrothed _ needs a word with you”. She backed out from the threshold with a raised eyebrow at “betrothed” and her father appeared in the doorway.

“Yes, my son?” He flinched at his own words but, oddly enough, it was a comfort to be addressed so informally. They had grown more accustomed to having me in their domain. “I have questions regarding the chuppah. Need I cut down a tree? Or may I use the branches of one of my great trees? As you know, they have quite a bit of magic in their bark”. His eyes looked upward in thought, then they flitted to the white tree in his yard before returning to me. “I suppose a magical tree would be difficult to cut down for a canopy... Branches the thickness of Miryem's arm would suffice”. It was so odd to hear her name said so nonchalantly, even in her father’s voice. “Is it possible to use several smaller branches and intertwine them to create the same effect?” He nodded and his long curls bounced slightly.

“Thank you” I bowed my head in appreciation, “My Lady said you would discuss the wedding ceremony with me so I do not make too much a fool of myself.” I saw him force back a smirk, but his nostrils flared slightly in amusement and remained silent. “When you have the time, send for me at your convenience and I will dedicate the time required to master my role.”

“Oh. Yes.” he said almost startled. I bowed again, this time with my whole torso and walked back to camp. The captain of my guard was still waiting outside my pavilion. “Your suggestion has been accepted. Have your captain cut off the branches of my great tree instead of chopping it all down. They need to be the width of my Lady’s arm. But he may find several branches to be intertwined to have the same effect. I am confident the great tree will have thousands of acceptable branches to choose from. Have his artisan father aid his search.” I waved the captain away and sat back down at my writing desk. My pen scratched along the paper and my fingers smudged the ink more than once. After an hour of trying to put my feelings to paper, I broke my fast with some thinly sliced venison and white fruit.

Just as I finished, there was a tap on my tent flap. “Hn?” I looked up from my plate. A man cleared his throat. “Your majesty?” It was my soon-to-be father-in-law! “ _ Panov... Mandelstam? _ ” It physically hurt to say his name out loud for anyone to hear. “I have the time to walk you through the ceremony now” he mumbled apprehensively “Is it an agreeable time?” I hurriedly shoved my papers aside and opened the flap. “Yes. Of course! As I said, I am at your leisure. I would have come to your door if you had only sent for me.” 

“No. No. I could use the walk” he said. I led him in and offered up my soft chair. He looked at it warily as if to refuse, but finally sat down without a word.

“As you know there are several parts to a Jewish wedding,” I nodded “The first two parts have already been completed. The acceptance of the betrothal, when you offered up a bride price, and the Ketubah, what you just finished negotiating this afternoon. On The day of the wedding, we will walk with Myriem up to the canopy. You should have two trusted people of equivalent rank if your parents are not here.” I nodded again.  _ ‘I would choose two of My Lady’s bondsmen’ _ . 

“After both of you are placed under the Chuppah, you will sign the Ketubah in front of the Rabbi and your witnesses.  _ Oh _ , I forgot to mention, you should make the chuppah large enough so that we can place a small table underneath for you two to sit by. That is where you will have the Yichud and dinner.”  _ ‘What is that?’ _

“You will be  _ mostly _ married at that point. But there are still some things that need to happen before and after that part of the ceremony.”

_ ‘Mostly? How can you be mostly married? Either you were or you were not’ _

“The wedding is in less than two weeks but we don’t have too much more to do.” He hesitated briefly “I don’t suppose you can read  _ Hebrew _ ?” he asked in a sceptical tone. I shook my head. The letters in my Lady’s holy book were incomprehensible so far. “It was too much to expect. Well, I suppose we can alter that part or forgo it all together”. My eyes shot up 

“What? No! I must follow all the proper procedures. I promised my Lady”. 

His eyes looked on in surprise. “Well, if you want to dedicate the time to it, do you think you could remember a short passage of the Torah? I could read it out to you and you could just learn it phonetically?” His voice unsure, but hopeful. 

“I have an  _ excellent _ memory! I am confident I could learn it quickly enough to recite it with my wife”.  _ My _ wife. It felt pleasant on the tongue. 

“Yes--- Well. On the shabbat before the wedding, each of you will be with your family in a different house. Or tent. She will have all her female relatives and new family from your side. And you all the males from both sides of our families. At the end of the night both of you will read a passage of the torah together and the night will be over”. I tried to create a mental list of all the steps. “She will receive blessings and congratulations from the women, and you the men. It is a  _ Shabbat Kallah  _ and _ Aufruf.” _ I nodded. 

“I can do that. I would be  _ happy _ to do it. I want my Lady to have her wedding the way she always dreamed.” Panov Mandelstam paused and looked into my eyes. Well, I also  _ promised _ to follow all her rituals. But still, I wanted to make my bride happy.

He slowly nodded and continued. “Inside the canopy, you will receive the seven blessings and drink the wine to seal your bond. Before the blessing begins you will each drink a sip from two wine glasses. After the blessings have been said, you will pour your wine into a third chalice and both drink from it. First Myriem, then you. After you have been pronounced husband and wife, you will break a glass beneath your right heel.” He kept pausing to look into my eyes as if they would suddenly harden and refuse to participate in the rituals.

“ **_Break_ ** a glass? Why is that required?” that seemed a waste of glass to me. He spread his hands out to me in an expression I couldn’t decipher what it meant. “The glass represents several important parts of our history. However, most of us take it to mean that even in great joy, we must temper that feeling. There will be difficult times and every marriage faces trials and hardships, no matter how happy or solid. Whether self inflicted or not. Breaking the glass shows us that we, as partners in life, can weather the storm and we acknowledge that life will not always be pleasant.”

“That is--- a very good tradition” was all I said. It was true. Life and a partnership will not always be easy and happy. ‘ _ How soon would this feeling of elation fade? A year? Ten? Forty? How many years did I have with her, at all?’ _ The white fruit she ate would help her live longer, but she was still mortal. I forced myself to break the glass in my mind. I would temper this joy and know it would end someday. I couldn’t choose when. But I would force myself to appreciate every day.  _ Every  _ day.

“Then after that we will shout congratulations” the Panov began again. I had forgotten there would be more. I was caught up in my thoughts. “ Afterwards you two will be left alone for a few minutes in the Yichud”. 

“You had said that earlier. What  _ exactly _ is this?” He looked up quickly. “I apologize, I keep forgetting you don’t know any of our traditions, and you don’t speak Hebrew either.” He chuckled slightly and shrugged his shoulders “You are so amenable it makes it hard to remember that you aren’t well versed in human customs, let alone  _ Jewish  _ ones.” I raised my eyebrow at him but he didn’t look back up. ‘ _ Amenable?’  _ I had bargained with my betrothed. It wasn’t all out of kindness.  _ ‘I would have married her last night with a simple pronouncement of words, drinking of wine and a ribbon tied around our hands. It would have taken ten minutes and she would already be mine! _ ’ I forced down another bout of exasperation and impatience.

He cleared his throat in a sort of cough, then started again. “The Yichud is when the bride and groom will sit together in an enclosed area and be completely alone to reflect on what they just committed to. We will close the curtains and you two will have time to speak and eat your first meal together after the fasting. Oh the  **fasting** ! I forgot that as well.” 

_ ‘How much more would he “ _ **_forget”_ ** _ to tell me? He must be doing this on purpose to confuse me, and force me to look like a buffoon in front of all the guests.’ _

“You two aren’t required, but most couples choose to fast the night before the wedding. So from nightfall the day before to the Yichud, most don’t eat as a form of prayer and forgiveness of past sins.”

“If fasting will help make amends between my Lady and I, it will be done”. It was far simpler than I imagined to undo many of my wrongs. But perhaps the fact that she accepted my hand  _ at all _ was the true cleansing of my sins against her. Panov had a small frown on his face but he didn’t look upset. He just bobbed his head and kept going with his brows raised. It was a wholly unfamiliar expression. “You two will have a small bowl of golden broth or something similarly light. And then after your time alone is over, you will join us for the feasting and the Horrah.”

“I remember that!” I interjected excitedly, finally able to participate “that is the circle dancing and the chairs. You will bounce me and my Lady around on our thrones and dance”. He looked startled “How-?” then realization flashed over his face “Ah well, yes. Bashia’s wedding... You attended. You participated... in the Horrah…” His voice trailed off and he reached a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it softly.  _ ‘I am a halfwit. Why would I bring up that wedding?’ _ I had slapped him across the room and almost killed him. My eyes hardened in frustration at myself and I felt blue touch my cheeks. He rose out of his seat “Well that seems to be all of it. I’ll be off!” He bowed to me and hurriedly backed out of the tent’s open flap. “I am the biggest ass to have ever lived.” I sighed to the empty tent. I sighed out in disbelief and shame.

***************

The wedding day drew nearer and I had almost finished the preparations.  _ Tsop _ and  _ Shofer _ would be the ones to walk with me up to the Chuppah.  _ Fleck _ and her daughter would be my wife’s ladies in waiting to help her dress and veil herself. I had learned the blessing as quickly as I could so I didn’t disappoint my Lady or embarrass myself during the “ _ Aufruf” _ tomorrow night. The wedding canopy was being crafted by the best my land had to offer; and the wood from my Lady’s tree would be added to it today. The weavers had almost finished the curtains. All I had to do was wait for it to  _ finally  _ happen. 

My poem still needed work. It was hard writing in her language instead of my own. Some of the beauty was lost but I did my best. I could give it to her in two days. I knew she would like it.  _ Hoped _ she would like it.

She always saw me as the hard-faced Staryk King. Now she would see that my marriage proposal was not merely for her high magic, but as a man to a woman.  _ ‘Two souls reaching out to each other _ ’. At least I hoped it would have that effect. It might seem like a demand from me. To try to compel her to have affection for me. But it was the best I could manage, so it would have to suffice. I’d prove my affection in other ways. My cheeks flushed blue again as I thought of  _ how  _ I would demonstrate a certain aspect of my devotion. I was relieved to be in my tent and not walking the lines to check the work of the artisans. The veil they had made was of the finest and sheerest fabric we could find. Veils were not very common in the glass mountain so we wove silk into a lace cloth for her to wear. It was intricate work and I was surprised how quickly they had made it. I presented it to my lady and offered to have them make a dress for her as well.

She accepted the veil as making one in that time would have been impossible. Her mother had sold hers off during their leaner years. But she refused the offer of a dress. Saying that she had already commissioned one of my dress makers to design one for her. ‘ _ Of course’ _ . She was already a step ahead of me. I needed to start assuming she had outthought me by the time I approached her. But I would always offer my aid. I could not rely on her to think of  _ everything _ . I didn’t want to place that burden on her. All I could do now was prepare. And Wait.


End file.
